Split them up, keep them together or rearrange them, that’s what I like about this design – its versatility. While embroidering the 10 different trees, I kept thinking how well they’d work as individual designs on napkins for the Christmas table, but how equally effective they’d be stitched as is on a child’s Santa sack or rearranged to create a forest scene as the centrepiece of a holiday quilt.

And although some do look fairly festive – festooned with star stitches, Fair Isle patterns and stitched garlands and baubles – at the same time they’re not strictly Christmas designs. With a change of thread colour, the trees wouldn’t look out of place incorporated into home décor or as a detail on a tote bag.

They’re quick and easy to embroider and because each tree features different stitches (two in particular are slightly unusual), the overall design is somewhat of a sampler, which is always fun and interesting to stitch.

Another thought that struck me while embroidering the trees was that they’d work really well as gift tags, so I created 12 printable tags as an added extra to the pattern. All you have to do is print the last two pages as many times as needed on to white cardstock and cut out the tags. I’ll be punching holes in mine and threading through a loop of black and white baker’s twine as a finishing touch.

Whether you use it for Christmas or not, the pattern is available on Etsy and Craftsy.